I recently installed Windows 11 25H2 from a bootable USB I created on my Linux Mint laptop. I used Ventoy with a verified official Windows ISO, and made sure to format and delete any partitions I could during the installation. However, I noticed there's an empty 'Windows.old' folder present. I'm worried about any potential virus files from my previous setup carrying over. Should I be concerned about this folder? Thanks!
3 Answers
You don't need to worry about that empty Windows.old folder. Sometimes, after a fresh install, it shows up like that even if you deleted all your partitions. It’s just remnants from your old setup and won’t carry over any malware or files. Feel free to delete it if you'd like more space!
The Windows.old folder is typically created during major updates or fresh installs. Most likely, it was generated just because of the installation process itself. If you used the latest ISO and verified the hash, you're in good shape. You can safely delete that folder!
Just to add on, always remember to check your backups before making any drastic changes like a full OS install. But in your case, since you formatted the partitions, the Windows.old folder isn’t a concern. It won’t have any virus files in it.
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